Broad Prize as most improved urban school district in the nation
Michael Bloomberg became mayor
did not want an independent agency (Board of Education)
overhauled entire district
recruited leaders from corporate America to apply business principles to public education
Children First
install uniform reading and math program in all schools
eliminate districts and replace with large regions
private funding for training and mentoring principals
promised greater parental involvement, but it was actually reduced
created a leadership academy to train prinipals
parent activists contributed to a NYC Public School Parents' blog
Joel Klein (former lawyer Bloomberg hired into the system) declared centralization a success and proceeded to rid the city of direct supervision of the schools
due to this business approach, when decisions were made at headquarters they often resulted badly - with the reorganization of bus routes, children of the same household were sent to different stops
Soon enough, the Department of Education decided to take autonomy and choice as its main initiatives.
Made a "Panel for Educational Policy" that, to him, was of no importance. Members were appointed by him
Joel Klein was appointed as chancellor without any education experience
wanted to run the school system as a business
His plan was based on testing
only tested reading and mathematics so there was little attention to all the other subjects
bus routes were rearranged and many kids were left stranded
He wanted to to end "social promotion"
this caused the standards to drop
in the end, there was no change
embraced charter schools
some complained that charter schools ignored disadvantaged populations
disadvantaged children have a harder time with the application process and therefore rarely got in
small-school movement led by Deborah Meier
200 new small schools were opened
Small schools had their advantages and disadvantages
high schools were specific to profession
it was very hard for students to choose a school
not many 9th grade students know what they want to do
some students didnt get into the highschool they wanted
commutes were up to 90 minutes
Schools were going to be graded A-F on improvement
if a successful school dropped a bit in scores, they received an F
if an unsuccessful school improved a bit, they received an A
therefore, it was confusing to chose the right school
there was no "school-change" strategy, only "school-shutdown" strategy
In the end, the test scores lose their meaning because teachers only teach to pass the tests
School becomes a game
This chapter exemplifies several of the "mistakes" Mayor Bloomberg made during his term. It shows the problems that stemmed from having a uniform, centralized system with a single math and reading program for every school. As Ravitch says, it is easy to believe that these are all good ideas that will result in success within the school system. However, rather than reaching goals, many of the strategies that were implemented created chaos and lack of achievement. Michael Bloomberg took all the power of the school system and changed the schools completely. He shut down many schools and created hundreds of new schools. The evaluation of schools was flawed along with the testing process, but proceeded with these new plans anyway. He did not really get to the heart of the problems with schools. Parents did not have much say at all if any which is a problem when it comes to their child's schooling. It shouldn't be as hard for students to attend school as Bloomberg made it.
School reform truly needs to be taken one step and a time and such drastic changes can not be made so rapidly within a matter of a few short years. Bloomberg's strategies encouraged the "Game of School" where teachers taught to the tests and students took minimal interest in the material. However, this experimental business model was good to learn from, as school officials now know what strategies to avoid and what to implement.
Chapter 5 - The Business Model in New York City
pages 69-91This chapter exemplifies several of the "mistakes" Mayor Bloomberg made during his term. It shows the problems that stemmed from having a uniform, centralized system with a single math and reading program for every school. As Ravitch says, it is easy to believe that these are all good ideas that will result in success within the school system. However, rather than reaching goals, many of the strategies that were implemented created chaos and lack of achievement. Michael Bloomberg took all the power of the school system and changed the schools completely. He shut down many schools and created hundreds of new schools. The evaluation of schools was flawed along with the testing process, but proceeded with these new plans anyway. He did not really get to the heart of the problems with schools. Parents did not have much say at all if any which is a problem when it comes to their child's schooling. It shouldn't be as hard for students to attend school as Bloomberg made it.
School reform truly needs to be taken one step and a time and such drastic changes can not be made so rapidly within a matter of a few short years. Bloomberg's strategies encouraged the "Game of School" where teachers taught to the tests and students took minimal interest in the material. However, this experimental business model was good to learn from, as school officials now know what strategies to avoid and what to implement.